French and plant based - OUI !

Many meals with Erin
and Philip

Les Amantes du Marche - pumpkin quinoa
stew with cabbage salad
rolls and pesto dressing

OUI! you can eat completely plant based while traveling in France but you will not be experiencing the true French cuisine. Having language and custom as a challenge, we still managed to find delicious meals out and we made many ourselves at home, picnic or even traveling. One of my favorite parts of travel as I have mentioned before is searching for items in stores (here called Bio stores) or restaurants. With the internet it is easier and easier to find them.

La Fiancée du Désert - vegetarian plate

We were based in Pau, France for a total of 5 weeks with short side trips here and there (and our trip to Morocco in between) and so we got to know the culture and places that we liked. Our friends Erin and Philip were living a floor below and were great for helping us find what we like as well as many delicious meals shared with them in their contemporary apartment. Pau is a comfortable small walkable city. 

Eggplant and Artichoke salad at
Relais D'Alsace, Pau

Spa town of Loudenville in Pyrennes

We ate today at a favorite restaurant to celebrate my birthday a few days early - Les Amantes du Marche. We attempted several times before only to find them filled at lunch so reservations are definitely in order. Richard had the sample midday menu plate and I enjoyed a salad of beets and chestnuts along with pumpkin quinoa stew and cabbage rolls with pesto sauce. We also enjoyed a meal at La Fiancée du Désert, a Lebanese restaurant in Pau which also requires reservations. Twice we enjoyed a salad of eggplant and artichoke hearts at Relais D'Alsace Taverne, just downstairs from our apartment in Place Clemenceau.
We took several side trips during our stays in France. Off to the Pyrenees several times including a 
weekend in Loudenville where there was a spa. By asking questions I always managed to find 
an item that was plant-based, often a large salad. 

Olea Restaurant, Biarritz

Padrons in Bayonne

By train we traveled to Lourdes, Bayonne and Biarritz where we found several restaurants with vegan items on their menus.

And then there were our picnics and makeshift meals. With a little trip to a Bio store and a bandana as a placemat we are set to go wherever we are. To some it is a bottle of wine, cheese and bread and to us - rice cakes, hummus, carrots, fruit and treats.

Chestnuts roasting on the open fire.
Every afternoon in Place Clemenceau, Pau

Picnic in Parc Beaumont
Hummus, carrots, chips
and apple

Makeshift meal in Toulouse hotel,
on the way to Morocco
Tomato soup and endives